Delhi AQI sees marginal improvement; relief may last few days

The transport sector contributed 18% of the city's pollution, while stubble burning accounted for 2%, with its share forecast to rise to 7.9%.

Delhi’s air quality improved marginally on Tuesday, with the 24-hour average AQI dropping to 299 in the “poor” category from Monday’s 344 (very poor), according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s bulletin.

Delhi Cantonment and Sri Aurobindo Marg were the only monitoring stations to record moderate air quality, with AQI readings of 135 and 155, respectively. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Weather experts attributed the improvement to stronger northwesterly winds that helped disperse pollutants, and noted that the trend could continue over the next couple of days.

The Air Quality Early Warning System (EWS) for Delhi also forecast a decline in PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations over the next two days.

According to the Centre’s Decision Support System (DSS), the transport sector was the largest contributor to Delhi’s pollution on Tuesday, accounting for 18% of the total. The contribution of stubble burning was estimated at 2%, though forecasts indicate it could rise to 7.9% on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, 28 of the 58 air quality monitoring stations reported “very poor” air quality, while another 28 logged levels in the “poor” category. Two stations recorded “moderate” air quality, and none reported severe pollution levels.

Delhi Cantonment and Sri Aurobindo Marg were the only two locations to record moderate air quality, with AQI readings of 135 and 155, respectively.

Meteorologist Navdeep Dahiya said the season’s first western disturbance is arriving over the Himalayas, which could further improve air quality levels in Delhi. He added that the wind pattern is expected to shift to southwesterly at the surface level between November 12 and 15, aiding the AQI recovery.

Satellite data recorded 559 farm-fire incidents across six states on Monday, including 198 in Punjab, 17 in Haryana, and 47 in Uttar Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Delhi recorded a maximum temperature of 29.6°C on Tuesday.